Chelsea boss to promote cork?

Published: 23 July, 2008

Chelsea FC manager Jos Mourinho is in negotiations with The Portuguese Cork Association (Apcor) to be the public face of a pro-cork promotional campaign.Mourinho, a wine lover who last year presented Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson with a bottle of 1965 Barca Velha, has yet to finalise the deal, but he is expected to sign, with the campaign to be launched in March.

Brand-communication agency Grasshopper is behind the campaign, which is expected to target the major multiples, as well as off-licences, bars and restaurants, and will involve

point-of-sale kits and a competition to win a trip to Portugal.

An Apcor spokeswoman told The Independent newspaper that Mourinho was chosen because he's Portuguese, he's sophisticated and he appeals to the wine consumer'. But she added, disappointingly, that few Apcor staff actually got to meet the great man: We never met Mourinho,' she is reported as saying. We've dealt with his sports agent, his image agent and his personal agent, but we weren't allowed near him. He hates having his photo taken.'

Whether the campaign will involve Mourinho referring to cork as The Special Closure' has yet to be confirmed.